President William Ruto has pledged to secure employment for Asenath Rotich, the widow of the late marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum. Addressing mourners on Friday at Kiptum's funeral service in Keiyo South, Elgeyo Marakwet County, President Ruto assured that the government would extend support to Kiptum's family in recognition of the late marathoner's contributions to the nation's pride and glory.

In addition to ensuring employment for Rotich, President Ruto announced plans to provide her with a new residence and Ksh. 5 million in financial assistance to aid her in caring for the two children left behind by Kiptum. This assistance comes on top of the two three-bedroom houses constructed by the government for Kiptum and his father within a record one week.

"Huyu kijana tushampatia milioni tano tayari na serikali itampatia nyumba mpya mbali na ile tumejenga hapa. Sasa tutampatia mjane wake," said Ruto.

Furthermore, he stated, "Mama Asenath, I will sit down with the governor of this region to ensure that we find a suitable job for her so she can take care of the children of our late athlete Kelvin Kiptum."

During his speech at the funeral ceremony, President Ruto praised Kiptum as an "ambitious, disciplined, and focused" athlete. He emphasized Kiptum's perseverance and humility in overcoming challenges to become an icon in the sporting world.

"He had more reasons not to succeed than he had to succeed. But he worked against the odds. He could have said I come from a village that is not well known, or I come from a family that cannot cater for him or he does not have running shoes... you heard he ran barefoot in his earlier days. He didn't see those as impediments to his ambition and his success," remarked Ruto.

The President urged all Kenyans to draw inspiration from Kiptum's life and to strive for greatness despite obstacles.

"I say Kelvin even in his death is speaking to us as Kenyans that we may not have gold, we may not have so much... and that should not deter us from being the great country that we must be. All of us as the people of Kenya must love this country enough to be able, to make Kenya great," emphasized Ruto.

Kiptum tragically passed away in a road accident on the Elgeyo Marakwet-Eldoret road. His coach, Gervais Hakizimana, who had trained Kiptum since 2019, also lost his life in the crash and was laid to rest in Kigali, Rwanda.

Following the funeral proceedings on Friday, Kiptum was laid to rest in Naiberi, near Eldoret, where the government had constructed a new home for his family.